Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 60th day of the year. There are 305 days remaining in 2017.
Lawmakers want to spend $1 billion on transportation. Legislators strike a deal on liquor law reform. Sean Reyes is still talking with the Trump administration about heading up the Federal Trade Commission.
The clock:
- 8 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
- 108 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention at Weber State University (6/17/2017)
- 251 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
- 327 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
- 372 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
- 616 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
- 1343 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
Today’s political TL:DR –
- Utah lawmakers float a plan to bond for $1 billion in transportation spending [Utah Policy].
- Legislators come up with a compromise on liquor legislation. Instead of a “Zion Curtain,” restaurants will be allowed to erect a small barrier to separate diners from where alcohol is being prepared [Utah Policy].
- A bill in the Legislature would essentially gut the “Count my Vote” compromise, forcing candidates to either take the convention or signature route to the ballot, but not both [Utah Policy].
- Sean Reyes is in Washington, D.C. this week. He will take some time to meet with Donald Trump‘s team to discuss the position as head of the Federal Trade Commission. Reyes reportedly has turned down other job offers in the Trump administration [Utah Policy].
- Utah GOP Chair James Evans says he plans to run for a third term as the head of the party [Utah Policy].
- Rep. Patrice Arent wants to create a state-funded presidential primary [Tribune].
- Lawmakers are pushing an idea to purchase the controversial Bears Ears Monument from the federal government, then manage the land in conjunction with Native American tribes [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Gov. Gary Herbert says he’s optimistic about the future of health care reform after meeting with President Trump in Washington [Deseret News].
- LaVarr Webb lays out 10 things we should be addressing when we discuss federalism [Utah Policy].
- President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress, laying out his policy proposals to Congress [Washington Post]. Was his speech truthful? Here’s a quick fact check of the speech [New York Times]. Utah politicians react to Trump’s address [2 News].
- President Donald Trump plans to sign a revised executive order on immigration soon [Wall Street Journal]. The new order reportedly drops Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens would be banned from traveling to the U.S. [Associated Press].
- President Trump reverses course, saying he’s open to granting legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants [New York Times].
- President Trump ends an Obama-era regulation that aimed to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill [CNN].
- Salk Lake City is ending the $7 million purchase of the Sugar House property that was slated to become a homeless resource center [Tribune].
On this day in history:
- 1781 – The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation.
- 1790 – Congress authorized the first U.S. census.
- 1845 – President John Tyler signed a congressional resolution to annex the Republic of Texas.
- 1872 – Congress authorized the creation of Yellowstone National Park.
- 1945 – Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives, wounding five congressmen.
- 1974 – Former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman and former Attorney General John Mitchell were indicted on obstruction of justice charges related to the Watergate break-in.